Chapter 24
After the case of the King of Thieves came to a close, just as Iris had predicted, Mr. Zhuang Zhuoyuan began a long period of overtime work. Sometimes it was group drills, sometimes he led Bob to do individual observation training, and sometimes there were sudden extra drills. In short, there was never a moment of rest.
Mr. Zhuang naturally had no objection to this work arrangement. In his own words, if he had to be particular about regular working hours, he should have chosen to be a security guard long ago. However, after frequently standing his girlfriend up a few times, and even canceling several dates in the near future, Mr. Zhuang's guilt towards his girlfriend increased dramatically.
Having witnessed the crazy phone calls in the past and experienced Mr. Zhuang's voluntary "on time" reporting for duty, just when everyone thought that Mr. Zhuang would have to rush home to hand over the person after get off work, this devoted boyfriend quickly packed his things and asked them, "Where are we going for happy hour tonight?" Obviously, he wanted them to book a share for him.
"Did the sun set in the east today?" Zhang Jiguang pretended to look out the window, which made the others around him also look over. After a moment, they turned back and leaned against the windowsill, teasing each other: "So, your henpecked nature has been cured without any medicine?"
Seeing the fingers pointing at him in unison, Zhuang Zhuoyuan put his hands on his hips and glanced at them. He suddenly remembered the stand-up comedy show he went to with Iris last week, and directly used a famous line from that show to respond: "Being in a relationship and no one cares is freedom; not being in a relationship and no one cares is called miserable. My Iris has been understanding of my hard work lately and has given me a lot of free time."
His words instantly divided the people into two factions, but because of his smug expression, the two factions immediately united again. The overly smug Zhuang Sheng could not escape the fate of being "extra-punished": "You have a girlfriend, huh?"
Even as he was being chased and left looking disheveled, Zhuang Zhuoyuan still answered defiantly, "Yes!!!"
It turned out to be a sticky bean. Ye Shuhui and Zhan Hantao, who had been "watching" from the sidelines the whole time, exchanged a glance and shook their heads with smiles.
But where did Iris go? Thinking about the wilderness survival training that was to be held later, Mom asked with concern, "Did you tell Iris about this? Is she okay? Lamy said that if needed, Iris can stay at our house for a couple of days."
Just now, Pauline said something similar. Zhuang Zhuoyuan thanked them for their kindness while also understanding Iris's protest. She was originally a very independent girl, but under Zhuang Zhuoyuan's meticulous care, she gave the impression of being a helpless and reckless fool, no wonder she got angry and ran away. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was determined to reflect deeply, but before his girlfriend returned, he had an important matter to tell his teammates: "Thanks, but Iris can take care of herself. Before we train, I only have one thing to ask of you all, and that is, don't let it slip that we're going on a wilderness survival trip, otherwise my future wife really won't be coming home anytime soon."
Judging from his words, it seemed that the two had a conflict. Apart from Zhan Sir and Ma Da, Zhang Jiguang, who was closest to the two, changed seats and came over to ask tactfully, "Iris isn't home?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan shook his head and smiled helplessly: "She said she wanted to be Mrs. Zhuang, but not Mrs. Zhuang, so she ran off to live the life of a great writer while I was busy."
"Going on vacation again?" Xingzai also came over to listen.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan clinked glasses with him: "It's half tourism and half adventure. She recently went to an outlying island with a group of classmates to conduct fieldwork with Dr. Pun. She told me at noon that she wanted to postpone her return because they discovered that there might be a case hidden behind the legend. She and Dr. Pun are going to have a brainstorming session to find out the truth before coming back."
He repeated "again" several times, then sighed again, "I don't know whether she or Professor Pan has Conan-like qualities. Every time she goes out to investigate, she runs into a case. Fortunately, this time she was accompanied by Inspector Yin's subordinate Yi Mingxian and Derek, the bodyguard Aunt Gloria left behind before returning to England. Otherwise, I really wouldn't feel comfortable letting her wander around like that."
Azu had also heard about Iris and Pandora's amazing adventures. To achieve such a level of education was indeed quite cool, and he was somewhat interested in it: "I heard that the 'kappa' corpse last time revealed a past incident of a deformed child being abandoned twenty years ago. What about this time? What is it this time?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan shrugged: "It's not clear yet. She just excitedly told me that they were originally going to investigate the stories of the mountain spirits on the outlying island, but suddenly they discovered a story of a lovelorn couple from about thirty years ago. So she and Dr. Pun both suspect that the so-called mountain monsters are actually the children of that couple who died for love back then. As for the details, I think everyone can wait for her serialization."
So here's the question: since Iris is already on the island covered in trees and weeds, why couldn't they just tell her that they're going to a deserted island for wilderness survival? This kind of training isn't new for the SDU, and for Iris, who already knows a bit about the Flying Tigers, it shouldn't be something she finds hard to accept.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan could only say that everyone present didn't understand his girlfriend at all: "I'm not worried about Iris worrying about me. She clearly distinguishes between the alert levels for training and missions, so even if my sister has a new case to investigate while I'm away, I believe she can manage it well. What I'm worried about is that after she hears I'm going to do wilderness survival, she'll find a deserted island to mess around on herself. Heaven knows how excited she was when I mentioned the SDU training program to her. She's eager to try rope skipping, and her eyes practically light up when it comes to wilderness survival. You all know that guy who illegally modified firearms hasn't been caught yet, and my sister is currently investigating a smuggling case, so brothers, keep your mouths shut and don't let my girlfriend have the chance to go to an island alone, please, please."
Iris wasn't worried about her safety at all. Although Zhuang Zhuoyuan often mocked her for her rudimentary skills, she hadn't neglected the fighting techniques she had learned from Ella over the years. Under normal circumstances, she could easily handle taking on several opponents, let alone one. As for special circumstances, there was no need to worry. With Derek, her extremely expensive bodyguard, she was 90% safe.
Derek, who fears nothing but ghosts, was feeling a bit exhausted. Glancing sideways at the group in the hall, who were getting increasingly enthusiastic about telling ghost stories, he suddenly realized what Topaz's meaningful "Oh—" when she learned of his new task meant. It turned out that although the two ladies had different personalities, their methods of tormenting people were essentially the same. If he had known the young lady was so interested in monsters and ghosts lately, he should have switched places with Lucas. He'd rather listen to their wild antics than stay here getting all jumpy. For God's sake!
Since the previous afternoon, when they found an elderly woman living alone in the mountains and heard her tell the story of what happened decades ago, a large group of people led by Zhang Zhanchao were like they had been injected with chicken blood, determined to find the child who might exist in the mountains.
Derek found this highly inappropriate. Their current speculation might have been valid thirty or even twenty years ago, but in this technologically advanced age, on this relatively unrestricted island, how could a savage around thirty years old go undetected? He silently nodded to Iris, Pandora, and Yi Mingxian, who hadn't participated in the discussion, acknowledging their wisdom. However, glancing at the boastful young lady's assistant, he felt genuine disdain. If he could, he really didn't want to team up with this bunch of silly kids.
Iris and Pandora were quietly discussing which young man in the village would be the child. For decades, the village had been peaceful, but just before their arrival, trouble began to strike. First, it was the family of the village store owner who had tipped them off years ago; then it was the family of the village chief who had helped enforce the village rules. Step by step, the threat seemed to be looming. According to criminal psychology, the most likely target of retaliation would be the Chen family, who had driven a young couple to their deaths. And the most important target of this retaliation would likely be Chen Longsheng, the patriarch of the Chen family—the father of the young woman in the story and the grandfather of the child whose identity was unknown.
“But what if there’s no child?” Yi Mingxian offered a new perspective. Even though this policeman, obsessed with the occult, seemed rather unserious most of the time, he was indeed quite capable when it came to solving cases. Iris and Pandora exchanged a glance, taking his thoughts into consideration: “If it wasn’t for revenge, then the motive for murder might be money. Chen Longsheng is nearly ninety years old, and his health is deteriorating, but we’ve heard that the distribution of his assets is still unclear.”
"Then what about the two cases involving the convenience store and the village chief?"
“It could be an accident, it could be intentional, or it could be intentional after the accident.” Pandora flipped the pocket watch cover in her hand, thinking slowly and calmly. “The resurgence of the Mountain Spirit story could not have happened without reason.”
So they set a trap, luring them in. But fearing the culprit might have anticipated their plan, they needed a backup plan. That night, Iris didn't call Zhuang Zhuoyuan again, only sending him a goodnight text. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had assumed she would be back the day before his closed training, but he waited until the end of the workday that afternoon without receiving any message from Iris asking him to pick her up at the pier. He immediately felt uneasy, fearing something had happened.
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